In this first of two parts, the spotlight is put on one of the greatest players to have worn the shirt of Plymouth Argyle.

He scored 61 times for the Pilgrims, 136 for Ipswich Town, 17 goals for Arsenal, nine with Portsmouth and the small matter of 13 for England.

Paul Mariner was a player with flair, excitement and a natural ability to win a game.

A native of Bolton, he was spotted 15 miles away by Argyle’s northern scout, Verdi Godwin, playing for Chorley in the Cheshire League.

Thirteen days before his 20th birthday, he scored twice as a trialist against Penzance, and the following evening found the net at Porthleven on a pre-season tour of Cornwall.

Manager Tony Waiters was suitably impressed and with a transfer fee of £6,000 agreed, his journey from Chorley to World Cup stardom had begun.

The first three matches of the 1973/74 season saw Argyle pick up just a solitary point, and only one goal.

Waiters decided a change was needed for the home game against Rochdale.

Starting a league game for the first time were Alan Rogers, Brian Johnson, and Mariner, replacing Harry Burrows, Alan Welsh and Jimmy Hinch.

Johnny Hore opened the scoring, Rogers marked his debut with a goal, and Steve Davey completed the demolition of Rochdale after Mariner had struck twice.

Four days later, Mariner was again on target as Argyle took a point from Southport at Haig Avenue.

His appetite to justify his rise from non-league football was clear to see, and the following month scored the fourth goal that knocked Portsmouth out of the League Cup at the second round stage.

After having beaten Torquay United in the opening round, Argyle became headline news as they not only took on no less than three First Division teams, they beat them all.

More extraordinarily, all three were away from home.

Mariner played in each round as Burnley, Queen’s Park Rangers and Birmingham City were all pushed aside to set up a semi-final with Manchester City.

The first leg, played on a Wednesday afternoon because of the national power crisis, ended in a 1-1 draw.

The second meeting at Maine Road saw Colin Bell and Francis Lee deny Argyle a place at Wembley and it was back to the more sedate surroundings of Division Three.

Paul Mariner signed for Argyle from non-league Chorley in 1973

Only three weeks before being beaten by City, Mariner had also lined up at the other great Manchester football institution.

His winning goals against both Brentford and Walsall were crucial in setting up a third round FA Cup tie against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

The match was famous for the absence of George Best, who was dropped by manager Tommy Docherty for failing to attend training and would never play for United again.

Without him, it was not the walkover many had still predicted. Lou Macari’s second half goal was all that United had to show, but it was enough.

Although Argyle were not challenging for promotion - a finishing position of 17th told a story of more struggles than successes – and Mariner was the talk of the terraces.

At the conclusion of his first season in professional football, Mariner had scored 14 goals in 41 Third Division appearances in addition to his three cup goals.

But everything changed when Waiters fine-tuned his side and, for the first time since 1968, there would be Second Division encounters on the fixture list.

The 1974/75 season was one of celebration on a personal and club level for Mariner as he collected the Player of the Year trophy for the first of two successive campaigns.

Argyle finished as runners-up, gaining promotion with Mariner starting in all but one of the 46 games, the other as a substitute.

He forged a lethal strike partnership with Billy Rafferty, recruited from Blackpool, and between them tore into defences like no other pairing seen at Home Park.

They scored a combined total of 43 league goals, with Mariner notching 20 of them.

Highlights were plentiful as home attendances steadily rose from the faithful 5,000 early in the season to regular crowds well in excess of 20,000. That frightened most Third Division visitors!

But one of – if not the – most impressive performances was at Dean Court where Bournemouth were beaten 7-3.

Mariner scored twice, one of six Argyle players to sign up for the goal fest.

The neck-and-neck battle with Blackburn Rovers for the title went the way of the Lancashire side by only one point.

The Argyle squad even recorded a record: “Farewell, Third Division”. It was just a shame the record company mis-spelt the word ‘Argyle’ on the record’s label.

Perhaps the only disappointment on the field for Mariner came when injury forced him out of the FA Cup third round glamour tie against Everton.

Paul Mariner moved to Ipswich from Argyle for £220,000 in 1976 despite interest from West Ham

With 38,000 inside Home Park, his absence was a closely guarded secret until the team was announced on the public address system.

Plucked from the reserves and thrust in front of the ‘Match Of The Day’ cameras was Barrie Vassallo, who Waiters had signed after failing to make the grade at Arsenal.

Vassallo took his chance and scored in the 3-1 defeat by Everton.

Playing at a higher level did not prove to be a more difficult challenge for Mariner as he netted 15 goals in 38 games and this time edged out Rafferty in the scoring charts.

They included four goals in a week, starting with two at home to beat Oxford United and another pair in the 2-2 draw at Chelsea, relegated at the end of the previous season but still boasting a host of household names.

Murmurs by this time were circulating, with Argyle fans wondering how long the club could hold on to Mariner’s talent.

Also, when he would go, as everyone knew he would to further his career, which club would sign him and what fee would Argyle receive?

At the start of the 1976/77 campaign, Mariner’s goals-per-game average improved with seven in 10 matches.